Paul Robert VAN DER HEIJDEN

During his research positions in biology & biochemistry Paul was already attracted to business and governance. He changed though business education and character towards an organizational development management position at Dutch Post. Triggered by his entrepreneurial nature he started his own mid-size management consultancy & education firm in mid-eighties, last century. 

As part of his personal development he took an Executive MBA in combination with Insead in France and Wharton in the USA and universities in Germany and The Netherlands.

Sharing strong beliefs in profitability of sustainable business and due to his personal development Paul retreated from this industry and initiated MatureDevelopment in 2000 and became advocate of voluntary contributions as well; a company with a strong emphasis on sustainable – & system innovation; especially on seafood and water quality.

Paul has excellent communication skills and he is in constant demand on important working groups, for organizations in R&D and education, like universities of applied science, vocational training colleges. In projects with the European Commission, his strategic programming processes assist greatly in priority setting in the Seafood Industry and Education. He is the Global Ambassador for Aquaculture without Frontiers. 

He is providing with colleagues leverage and solutions in online education, aquaculture, sustainable development, system innovation and water quality. And focuses on action to add value and improvement. 

Additionally, Paul has an excellent record in research, reporting and presenting.

He is extremely keen to assist younger people in their endeavors in the industry and tries to include them in all the work that he is engaged. To that end he has linked to several European Universities engaging in international internships and program accreditation also as member of Industry Advisory Boards at Universities.

Simon DAVIES

Professor Dr. Simon Davies, A Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, holds the Chair in Animal Nutrition and Aquaculture at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, England and is Honorary Professor at Nottingham University and Visiting Professor at Bristol University School of Veterinary Medicine. He was a Professor at Plymouth University for 30 years leading undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Simon obtained his BSc in Biochemistry and Masters in Nutrition and a PhD in Nutritional Physiology of salmon. He was a Post- Doctoral Fellow at the University of Idaho, USA and has supervised 35 PhD students and over 300 Masters Students’. He is the author of 150 scientific papers, book chapters and reports and recipient of over £5M of research income. Simon is the Editor-in-Chief of ‘International Aquafeed’ that specialises in the associated feed industry for the farming of fish with a wide global circulation. He has been instrumental in developing new feed technologies for the sustainable production of farmed fish. His research on trace element and vitamin nutrition of fish has been pioneering and highly praised. More recently he is evaluating natural prebiotic and probiotic ‘healthy bacteria’ dietary supplements to enhance the immune functions of fish to improve disease resistance and mitigate the use of antibiotics that can lead to antimicrobial resistance. He is developing advanced molecular techniques to quantify gene expression in the intestine of farmed fish to better understand the gut microbiology or microbiome.

Simon Davies is committed to education at all levels from vocational training to university degree levels. 

Carlo SCHAAIJ

Carlo developed an application for his university where he discovered his true passion for combining development with functional visual and – design. Due to his constantly driven proactive perspective and passion for functional design & technology, he loves to combine creativity with modern technology. 

Along the way, Carlo joined the IS&T Internal Design Team at Apple and worked on several internal projects for Apple departments, including some led by himself. After a while, he invented an internal application for his department at Apple, which quickly caught the interest of other departments. This allowed him to proceed with the expansion of the application for other Apple departments.

Carlo is a proactive innovative and creative UIX Designer & Developer. His main focus at MatureDevelopment is the user presentation layer of a web-based applications and the functionality in the Seafood Industry. He developed and created our BlueGreen Professional Seafood Industry Courses Seafood and our BlueGreen Network., understanding the value of blended education in the industry

Nowadays he works at the forefront of innovation and the application of technology to some of the most world’s most challenging problems like an innovative website; Marketing for lawyers and law firms.

He develops several modern technical solutions for organizations and companies. His expertise is mainly focused on UIX Design, Web development, and Admin Desk Management. 

Carlo is originally from the Netherlands but moved to Latin America due to his passion for the Latin culture and warm climate.

Manuel GOYANES ALLENDE

Manuel from Argentina studies business administration with a passion for sustainable technologies that are changing aquaculture businesses. He is inspired by the UN Brundtland report on sustainable development ‘Our Common Future’ and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

How do these goals and technologies in aquaculture come about in the first place? 

What are their consequences for people and organisations? 

For the global marketing? 

And how are these technologies disrupting other industries and even create opportunities for the seafood industry?

In his involvement through digital business & innovations, he aims to answer such questions by enabling professionals, management and leaders to form within MatureDevelopment a Blue-Green bridge between aquaculture technologies and sustainable business. 

The competitive edge in his interests, in close relationships with colleagues, links information systems with innovation management, covering traditional enterprise 

planning and – management to artificial intelligence and social media; synergy.

More importantly, Manuel adds, in Spanish and English, his passionate value to the team, innovates on products, services, processes and business models in the seafood industry context. 

Lewie COOPER

Lewie from Essex, England, had an early career in sales having a diverse customer base across Europe. He has delivered PR campaigns, strategic development and edits on investment portfolios for cutting edge innovations. 

He excelled in the commercial environment and made a bold move from private sector to education. Wanting to share his skills, knowledge and learning. Lewie is now responsible teaching and assessment on the Fisheries and Aquaculture provision at Shuttleworth College in Bedfordshire, U.K.

He has received from industry, investments to enhance the fish farm to grow the experience of the students studying. Innovative, bold and passionate. Lewie has a focus for global education, – emerging markets, – food security and – sustainable aquaculture. He is operating a fish farm for carp and hatchery with Tilapia.

In the United Kindom he is building bridges for institutions and industry on research and education. Whether it’s curriculum development or experts needed for research solutions. Lewie represents the MatureDevelopment – BlueGreen UK agent at Covent Garden, London, U.K. and he is blended education professional for BlueGreen Masters, ….. contributing to ‘Our Common Future’.

Renata FLECK PONTES DOS SANTOS

Renata has a bachelor in marine biology with emphasis in marine costal management at the Estate University of Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil and recent finished her Master degree in aquaculture and fisheries at the University of Algarve in Portugal.

With a different background, she moved to Europe for gaining more international experience and knowledge, she acquired an excellent knowledge on fish reproduction at the Hellenic Centre of Marine Research in Greece. Renata became extremely adaptive to the different circumstances and perspectives of sustainable approaches, especially regarding aquaculture.

Her passion for the oceans, aquaculture and sustainability combined with her curiosity and strong believe in a sustainable future, gives her an outstanding ability to communicate and connect people.

With her expertise in aquaculture, sustainable processes and fish reproduction she contributes to the innovative and sustainable activities of MatureDevelopment. Renata is the connection of MatureDevelopment in Portugal and due to the international experiences and easy communication she contributes to overcome the barrier between countries and it is the connection for international activities in Portugal.

Paulo ZARAGOZA PEDRO

Paulo Pedro is a Marine biologist with more than 25 years’ experience in research projects worldwide, and 20 years’ experience as an operations manager in environmental services laboratories (with proved competencies in sampling and analysis of water, air, soil and food). Paulo is an entrepreneur and founder in 2012 of producing sturgeon and caviar in Portugal in Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS). Since then he was involved in the development of sustainable fish farms using RAS technology in different parts of the world focusing in circular economy approaches based in aquaponics and integrated multitrophic aquaculture.

He visions a world where aquaculture can be the answer to mitigate some of the issues concerning climate change, world population growth and food production. He is technically skilled in RAS, energy efficiency applied to aquaculture, and animal welfare in aquaculture.

His passion for aquaculture also makes him an intense and engaged communicator on this subject, maintaining strong ties with both companies and academia.

Ben RODRICK

Ben holds a Bachelor degree in Product Design from Brunel University and is currently studying for an MSc Aquaculture, Harper Adams University. For the last decade, his career has been focused on developing products and systems for various applications – most recently residential technology. His current competencies resolve the challenge of designing and implementing some of the most advanced, bespoke automated systems for private and commercial clients.

A pursuit for knowledge acquisition has led to exploring a new career focus: innovative, sustainable and ethical food production. Design, technology, and automation will undoubtedly feature considerably in this pursuit. Exposure to a parallel technology-focussed industry offers a unique perspective for this mutual interest with MatureDevelopment. 

Specific areas of his research include optical sensing, water quality risk assessment, Biofloc systems and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. 

Gabriël VAN GELDER

Gabriel is a safety and security management professional in The Netherlands. He got inspired by conversations with Paul VAN DER HEIJDEN about aquaculture, wondering how safety and security can be further implemented in this industry. During his studies he learned about the very wide subject of safety and security, however, the conversations added a different perspective on the variety of uses this discipline can have. Safety and security are important for everyone and can be found in different views in every industry. As wide as it is, it varies from crisis management in companies to occupational health and safety in organisations. The reason why he studied safety and security management is that one of his greatest beliefs is to help other people. Not only would he be able to support people around the world with working on food security in the aquaculture industry but it would also provide a more sustainable way to produce food. 

On a personal level, he is interested in change management and to implement when asked for in the aquaculture industry. Another aspect that he would like to add to the industry is to improve quality inside organisations, which would start off by a scan of the organisation. The final goal of the scan is to research the culture of organisations. Both the quality in the production process and the attitude of the management and leadership towards safety are aspects that he has researched in projects. His interests are wide and the opportunity to include his passion for safety and security in them motivates him to explore and support all kinds of seafood industries. 

Ivo VAN DER LEE

After finishing his MSc in Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management at Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands, Ivo moved to Ethiopia to work as Aquaculture Manager at the first commercial fish farm of the country. During this time, he was responsible for overall management in the farm and mostly focussed on hatchery management including the management of three Recirculating aquaculture system, RAS, units. 

He trained staff in all important steps of fish husbandry and established standard operating procedures for all departments of the farm.

Besides the work on the farm he was responsible of the research program for which he cooperated with the local university and research centre. Also he has spend part of his time at the local feed producer where he helped to improve the first extrusion line of the country.

Currently Ivo is living in the Netherlands while working for the Netherlands-African Business Council. During his work there, he provides technical input on a large number of private sector development projects on the African continents. The projects are related to aquaculture and other forms of agriculture. 

Ivo will move house to Nairobi, Kenya. He will be working with an organization to implement and improve aquaculture business in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Kurt SERVIN

Kurt Servin from Guadalajara, Mexico has an academic background in Oceanographic and Marine Sciences and a professional background in commercial aquaculture, aquafeed nutrition, with both shrimp and fish management as well as business intelligence and talent development in commerce and the biosciences. 

He has worked with leading international companies, private enterprises, R&D agencies and government institutions. Kurt Servin is specialized in functional feed additives and gut modulation of shrimp to enhance their welfare and quality for the end-consumer. 

Kurt completed his Ph.D. at the University of Plymouth, UK, where he tested natural prebiotics and probiotics “beneficial bacteria” to enhance the immune competence of shrimp to improve their disease resistance and stress tolerance. As such, his work involves the application of advanced molecular techniques to quantify intestinal microbiology or ‘microbiome’ and to link this with dietary formulations containing functional feed additives in nutrition. This work has serious implications with regard to mitigating our previous dependence on antibiotics in our quest to seek effective alternatives that do not result in antimicrobial resistance in the food chain to both animals and humans. 

He is also undertaking consultancy work to assess the potential of new candidate aquaculture species for Latin America and in developing new containment technologies for marine fish in coastal waters and land based facilities such as RAS systems. Kurt is helping to promote such strategies in his native Mexico and the Americas with a keen interest in job and wealth creation based on sound ethical principles. Kurt has actively attended prestigious aquaculture meetings for many years and been an invited speaker on a number of occasions in Mexico and the USA. More recently, 2019, he has contributed to review articles and peer-reviewed publications in leading scientific journals notably as a co-author (2019) in the journal ‘Sustainability’ involving an international consortium and other MatureDevelopment members. This paper on shrimp feed sustainability has been widely acclaimed.

Kurt is committed to safe, efficient and sustainable seafood production to benefit the human population globally.

Richard POMPOES

Richard conducted a stakeholder analysis of the Asian aquaculture industry as part of his internship in the MatureDevelopment team.Growing up as young expatriate in Hungary and Bulgaria, coupled with an internship experience in Thailand, perpetuated Richard’s desire to explore the feasibility of aquaculture ventures in developing nations. 
This motivation culminated in the choice to conduct a feasibility assessment on small-scale aquaponics systems for subsistence purposes in remote rural areas in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, as part of his Bachelor final thesis Watermanagement project together with MatureDevelopment. 
To further deepen his understanding of the applicability of aquaculture globally, Richard is currently enrolled in the Masters Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Bryan-André HORSU

As a graduate of a Master of Science in International Supply Chain Management and a Bachelor’s in International Business Management Studies, Bryan-André has acquired extensive knowledge in the field of supply chain management, business management, and logistics at the Rotterdam Business School.

With MatureDevelopment (MD), he has gained expertise in aquaculture stakeholders analysis and in blockchain technology. How it can be adopted in the food sector’s supply chain specifically, in the fishing industry. Additionally, in collaboration with MD he was able to get an article published in International AquaFeed magazine entitled ‘The Potential Value of Blockchain Technology in the Seafood Supply Chain’. His knowledge further extends to the applicability of sustainability in the aquaculture industry. 

Bryan-André is an internationally driven professional who is hands-on, research-oriented, analytical, pragmatic, creative, self-motivated, determined, and persistent in achieving results even under pressure. He is a team-player who is dynamic and flexible, shows excellent leadership qualities by taking initiative, and result-oriented by for example solving complex problems that affect the seafood industry. He also displays skills and competencies including critical thinking, analytics, presentation, and report writing that help exhibit internal and external changes influencing businesses. Besides, he is familiar with consulting with clients and devise tailor-made solutions through analysis, design, and implementation. Also, his ability to communicate with excellence in French, English, and Dutch, is an asset to the building of business relationships involving both domestic and international firms. 

With these qualities and competencies, Bryan-André demonstrates intercultural adaptability among teams. The ability to define the scope as well as assess the trends and developments affecting business supply chains on a global scale, is where Bryan-André excels. 

Davy VAN DOREN

Being from the Netherlands, having a strong connection with water is an almost certain given. Strengthened by roots in Rotterdam, a city famously known for its global port situated strategically at the river Maas, his combined passion for the natural environment and its conservation in the light of human activity has led him towards MSc degrees in biology and sustainable development. 

In past years, he has been involved in a wide spectrum of research activity, including the assessment of marine biodiversity, standardisation of bio-based commodities, trend analysis of climate change dissemination, monitoring of coral reef quality and the industrialisation of biorefinery processes. In the middle east with multi-national companies and in Europe, The Netherlands and Germany, with influential research organizations.

In his current work, he develops simulation models focused on enabling innovation at the level of systems and organisations. In his PhD research, Davy conducts innovation system analysis focused on the emerging technology, synthetic biology – a techno-scientific domain that shows both future potential and considerate challenges for its uptake in various industries, including those related to aquaculture. 

His ambition is to contribute towards the realisation of a new economy, one that is able to integrate the great achievements of human discovery within the demands of our evolving civilisations, in a truly sustainable manner.

Wesley MALCORPS

Wesley finalized a Bachelor in Water Management / Aquatic Ecotechnology at the HZ University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands, 2015) and a MSc Sustainable Development – Environmental Change and Ecosystems at Utrecht University in 2017 (Netherlands). He is currently active as a PhD student at the Institute of Aquaculture (United Kingdom) on the Green Aquaculture Intensification in Europe (GAIN) project – designed to support the sustainable growth of European (EU+EEA) aquaculture. His main focus is the strategic utilization of fish by-products, life cycle assessment and value chain analysis. 

He contributes to MatureDevelopment field of expertise with a multidisciplinary approach on technology, ecology, economy and sustainable development. His passion for ecology, scuba diving and aquaculture combined with his ambition to create a sustainable society contributes to his professional competences. MatureDevelopment provided Wesley the environment to evolve in these professional competences.

Edoardo PANTANELLA

Edoardo (Eddie) has an extensive background in aquaculture and agriculture and holds a PhD in Aquaponics and two MSc in Aquaculture and Agroecology. His primary goal is to produce sustainable food through systems integration and low-input management. He has carried out research on aquaculture topics with a particular focus on Integrated Agriculture Aquaculture Systems (IAAS) both with freshwater and saline water, recirculating aquaculture and saline agriculture. He has authored many papers, book chapters and manuals for both scientific dissemination and extension.

Edoardo is an experienced advisor in development cooperation projects funded by different donors. He started his international career in 2001 and worked on several consulting assignments with FAO and other international organizations. His main areas of activity are S.E. Asia and the Middle East, where he has worked for the development of sustainable aquaculture and agricultural systems in both arid lands and tropical regions.

Since 2013 he has been supporting governmental agencies on capacity building, good aquaculture practices, extension and vocational training, as well as promoting rural development through small scale aquaculture and women entrepreneurship.

More recently he has been advising and managing the startup of commercial aquaponics/hydroponics ventures in SE Asia for the production of chemical-free products and nutraceuticals for the pharmaceutical industry.

Utku AYDINCI

Utku is our Sustainable Business and Innovation professional. With his bachelor degree, he had years of international business experience in Europe with multinational companies in Istanbul, Turkey, with outreach to the east and Scandinavia. In these experiences, he identified his interest in sustainable development and ‘Our Common Future’.  In the Sustainable Business and Innovation track at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, he participated in European Institute of Innovation and Technology [EIT] Climate KIC, ‘Innovation for climate’, and had several experiences in sustainable business development and innovation areas. He specialized in legislation with functional feed additives in aquaculture, did international interviews with significant stakeholders in the aquaculture feed industry and wrote his report on prebiotics and its business potential. 

After successfully delivering his MSc thesis, he joined MatureDevelopment BV as Sustainability Strategist. Utku is working on international market management and business development with a focus of sustainability at MatureDevelopment HQ The Hague and Istanbul. In his vision, challenging steps could be taken in the global aquaculture industry to become sustainable and resilient to future challenges for Food Security and Nutrition. 

Sebastian M. STRAUCH

Dr. Sebastian M. Strauch is a professional aquaculture consultant from Germany. He obtained his BSc in Coastal Zone Management at the Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. During his internships and bachelor’s thesis, he focused on design of marine RAS, and also on alternative agricultural productions systems in coastal areas in the Netherlands, e. g. for salt marsh plants and macro algae. 

He obtained his MSc in Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. For his master’s internship and study, he focused on the rearing of juvenile Yellowtail kingfish, including the production of live feeds, such as micro algae, rotifers and artemia, but also the effects of feed composition on maintenance and growth in fish. 

Sebastian obtained his PhD at the University of Rostock, Germany. The main focus of his dissertation was to identify production limits of commercial African catfish RAS, developing nutrient and energy balances, and potential reuse options of wastes, e.g. aquaponics, with special focus on phosphorus. His dissertation was honored with Magna cum laude. After his doctorate, he worked in an engineering office for planning and development of commercial aquaculture production and processing plants, and as CEO of a commercial African catfish hatchery. 

Through these activities, Sebastian has gained a particularly good understanding and experience of developing entire value chains in aquaculture production, well imbedded within local environmental and public environments.